John Paulson’s gold fund’s losses widen, down 23% in June (-65% YTD)

Hedge fund manager John Paulson is under extreme pressure after his gold fund plunged 65% so far this year (-23% in June), after the yellow metal fell 12% that month on concerns that the Federal Reserve might scale back on its quantitative easing program, various media reported.

According to a report by the Reuters, it was unclear if the June sell off in gold was the primary reason for the 23% decline in Paulson’s PFR Gold Fund or if his bets on borrowings and derivatives also contributed.

Paulson’s gold fund manages an estimated $300m, roughly 2% of his total assets, using mostly his personal money. The gold fund is also Paulson’s smallest portfolio. At one point it managed almost $1bn, rose 35% in 2010 and was part of Paulson’s estimated $5bn income that year, says Reuters.

The report quotes John Brynjolfsson, managing director of global macro hedge fund Armored Wolf as saying, "Paulson’s impact on the gold market is dramatic. In particular his size alone, on the way in or way out. But one needs to look beyond his size alone because his positions are relatively widely publicised, and representative of how others are thinking, so thereby their impact get......................